SLAS Regular Meeting
Friday, May 16, 2014 7:30pm
McDonnell Hall, Washington University

Get Cratered: Brought to you by the letter M
Moon, Mars, Mercury

by

Dr. Pamela L. Gay
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville

Centuries ago, research in astronomy was done mostly by amateurs unpaid volunteers. Then telescopes got much larger, specialized instruments got very expensive, and professional astronomers took over. But with the rise of the internet and fast personal computers, amateurs can again play a big role in modern research and do it at home!  Citizen science projects in astronomy allow amateurs to download images from major telescopes and from robot spacecraft. Free software first provides the training and then provides the actual images for amateurs to work with. Pamela Gay has been deeply involved with a number of citizen science projects classifying distant galaxies, searching for planets around other stars, - and examining craters on planets and satellites in our own solar system.
        Dr. Gay is an Assistant Research Professor in the Center for STEM of SIU-Edwardsville. She is an astronomer, writer, and podcaster focused on using new media to engage people in science and technology. Her best-known project may be Astronomy Cast, a podcast co-hosed with Fraser Cain, Producer of Universe Today.

Meeting Agenda

Welcome

Introduction of Officers

Dr. Pamela Gay

Astro 101

MSRAL 2014 - Mark Jones

Elections

Announcements and Star Parties